"It's a very simple game. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes it rains."
(Bull Durham)

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Rumors, Notes On Pedro, GI Jones, J-Mick, Pirate Potpourri

A mash of rumors, notes on Pedro, GI Jones and J-Mick and some Pirate potpourri:

Bucs and Cubs? According to ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine, Paul Maholm is getting looks from the Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates. Numerous teams are interested in Geovany Soto, who would likely be available for the right package. Soto
was almost traded to Pittsburgh last July before the Cubs backed out at
the last minute.

Scott Miller of CBS Sportsposts that "Among those who have inquired on (Carlos) Quentin are the Indians, Reds, Pirates
and Marlins. Multiple sources said
Wednesday that the Padres' asking price on both Quentin and third
baseman Chase Headley remains exorbitant." He added that the Padres may not even deal Quentin but instead will try to ink the soon-to-be free agent to a new deal.

Rob Maadi of API "The Pirates, Rangers, Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays and
Atlanta Braves have been linked in talks for Upton. The Diamondbacks
would have to get a shortstop, third baseman or top-notch starting
pitcher."

GW's take on Justin Upton: there are a lot of questions regarding him - underachiever rep, bad slash away from Chase, bum wing, big contract - and we're guessing the Bucs are hanging around in the hopes that his trade value drops a notch. Upton has ability, but right now he's a pretty big risk, especially at the cost of elite prospect talent.

You've read about Pedro's daylight power surge; well, it stretches all across his entire slash line. In the day, his line is .301/.374/.785 with 13 HR & 60 RBI in 93 AB. At night, his slash is .189/.260/.335 with 6 homers & 25 RBI in 185 at bats. He has a noticeable career split between day and night, too, though not nearly as pronounced as this seasons'. Wonder when the last time El Toro saw an optometrist was? Oh, remember when Alvarez was considered a shoo-in for first base? Well, his UZR/150 is 5.5 this season (his WAR is 2.1), according to Fangraphs.

And speaking of slashes...Garrett Jones isn't enjoying a resurgence; he's having exactly the kind of year he always has - against righties. His lifetime slash against them is .275/.345/.492 with an OPS of 116; his 2012 line against RHP is .276/.295/.533 with an PPS of 116. The only difference is fewer walks in exchange for a little more power. The Pirates have finally recognized that he's a platoon guy and limited his exposure to lefties.

J-Mick joined an exclusive club yesterday, according to Matthew Pouliot of the Hardball Times: "McDonald became the first Pirates pitcher since Paul Maholm
on Aug. 18, 2007 to give up six runs in a victory. It had happened just
three times since 2000, with Josh Fogg (June 14, 2003 against the Rays)
and Kris Benson (May 26, 2004) also accomplishing the feat."

Jose Tabata doesn't look like he's on a fast track back to the show. His line at Indy is .224/.283/.265. Evan Meek is 2-2-1 with a 2.34 ERA, but with 22 walks in 34-2/3 IP.

Last Word on Mark Appel, as Baseball America's Jim Callis explains the whole ball of wax: "...under the old system without
draft-pick penalties, I think Appel would have gotten $6 million. The
Pirates probably would have paid it to him, given their recent history.
Once the Astros passed, it was unlikely he was going to go second or
third to the Twins or Mariners, and the new system was going to make it
difficult for anyone to give him $6 million. Appel's worth in talent
remained constant wherever he was getting drafted, but the ability of a
team to pay him diminished as he slid further in the draft."

LHP Donnie Veal got called up to the White Sox. The 27 year old ex-Bucco Rule 5 pick was 6-3-1 in AAA with a 2.08 ERA, averaging 11 K per nine innings (and 4.4 walks).

2 comments:

Hmmm....Maholm coming back to Pittsburgh is an interesting thought. I'm not sure how much he has left, and I'm not sure if---at this point in time---he would be definitively better than any of our current 3-4-5 starters (though if Bedard keeps stinking, Maholm would certainly be better). But Paul is a warrior and he never really wanted to leave Pittsburgh. Hmmm.

Agreed re: Garrett Jones. His miniscule number of walks is a bit of a concern, but as you say, he is blistering righthanders, and that's Job One. I've been assuming that the Pirates would non-tender him this coming offseason, but you could do a whole lot worse than him and McGehee as a first base platoon next year, ya know? As long as they can upgrade at a corner outfield spot, it might make more sense to bring Jones and McGehee back than it would to do anything else. Speaking of McGehee, it's quite the Rasputin imitation he's done this year, eh? I was 99% sure he would be run out of town on a rail right after they got rid of McLouth, but McGehee has come back to be....not great, but reasonably productive.

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